Ethical Considerations
by MissMelysse
Summary: "Counselor, do you recall the conversation we had on the morning of the O'Briens' wedding? I told you that I had considered the possibility of marriage someday." - CRUSHverse Data/Zoe implied. OneShot. Takes place after chapter seven of Crush III: Sostenuto.


**Ethical Considerations**

 _ **Continuity Note**_ _: This chapter takes place just after chapter 7 (Stirred) of Crush III: Sostenuto._

 **April, 2369**

It wasn't often that Counselor Troi found herself in session with the being currently sitting on her couch, but her job required that she attempt to help anyone on the _Enterprise_ , officer, crew, or civilian, when they had a psychological problem, and she couldn't deny that, when it came to this particular patient, she often gained as much knowledge as she hoped she imparted.

"Alright, Data, I'm listening. You said you had a dilemma?" She relaxed her face and body into her 'mental health professional' posture, and focused on the gold-skinned android.

He took a beat, as if he had to compose himself before he spoke. "Counselor, do you recall the conversation we had on the morning of the O'Briens' wedding? I told you that I had considered the possibility of marriage someday."

Troi smiled faintly. "Of course, I remember, Data." In fact, the memory was a vivid one because the other's confession had surprised her at the time. It had never occurred to her that an android could marry, or would even want to. Still, he had been a patient in need, so, she reflected, she had sat next to him on the couch, squeezed his shoulders, and assured him that he had a lot to offer a potential mate. It had been meant as a gesture of both support and comfort. Not for the first time, she wondered if her android colleague had interpreted it that way. "I assumed you meant it in the abstract."

"At the time, I did," he said. "But that... wish... is no longer abstract. It is very real. I wish - no - "

It was rare that Data faltered when he spoke. Troi opened her mind, pushing for any sense of a 'there' there. Nothing. But then, Data had changed subtly over the years since they'd all been assigned to the _Enterprise_ , and the changes had been considerably _less_ subtle since he'd begun dating, and then living with, his current partner. Maybe, the counselor mused, it wasn't that this man was an emotional blank. Maybe she just couldn't read him.

He continued, accenting his replacement word: "I _want_ to marry Zoe."

"Shouldn't you be telling Zoe this?" She couldn't help the dry response. Perhaps the young woman of their mutual acquaintance had rubbed off on her.

"Counselor, you misconstrue. Zoe and I have discussed marriage in vague terms, as a likely, and even desired, evolution of our relationship."

 _Oh? Oh! OH!_

Deanna did her best to project an attitude of calm acceptance despite her new realization of the level of commitment between her colleague and the woman who was becoming a true friend.

"You don't need my permission or approval to propose to your girlfriend, Data, but I shouldn't have to remind you that Zoe is very young. Further, this is the first serious romantic relationship either of you have been part of."

"I am aware of both those things, Counselor. My dilemma is not whether or not it is the right moment for me to 'put a ring on it.' My concern is whether or not it is... ethical... for me to ask the woman I care for to give up the possibility of being truly loved."

For a long moment, Deanna Troi had no response. In all her conversations, both personal and professional, with Data or with Zoe they had addressed the younger woman's age, and the older officer's rank. They had discussed - together and separately - Zoe's recovery from her rape, and her plans for the immediate future: university studies and a career of her own.

They had even talked about the ways in which an android/human pairing were similar to and different from a more conventional romance.

However, in none of those conversations had the counselor perceived Data and Zoe's relationship as anything other than healthy, nourishing, committed, and loving.

With blunt honesty, she said, "I'm not sure I understand, Data."

The android's 'exposition voice' was on point. "I know that Zoe loves me. I am - as I frequently tell her - devoted to her. But devotion is not love, Counselor, and while she insists that she does not perceive either our relationship or me to be lacking anything, I cannot help but wonder if she is deluding herself. If I were to propose, and she to accept, she would, in fact, be giving up... love."

Troi knew there was no 'right answer' to Data's question. She also realized that whatever words she chose, whatever advice she offered could do more harm than good. At the same time, she mused, this man's partner was not the only member of the _Enterprise_ family who had seen more depth in him than even he claimed to have. Certainly, their CMO had expressed disbelief more than once when the second officer had called attention to some deficiency of feeling or deficit of emotion.

Her silence lasted over a minute while the android waited patiently. Finally, she asked, "Would she?"

"I do not understand."

"Would Zoe really be giving up love?"

She watched as he opened his mouth to give the obvious answer, then close it, only to open again and say, "I am sorry, Counselor. I still do not understand. What am I missing?"

"Love is a complex concept, Data," Troi explained. "We refer to it as an emotion, but what _is_ emotion other than response to stimuli? Babies 'love' their mothers because they associate them with comfort, stability, shelter, affection... Where you and Zoe are concerned, you have affection, intimacy, comfort, stability, attraction, commitment - "

"Desire."

"Data?" She felt her perfectly-groomed eyebrows lifting in unison, surprised by her colleague's apparent confession.

"When Zoe and I were at the conference on Hamal IV, I experienced desire. For her." His voice became quiet. "The... feeling... is not as strong now as it was then, but I still perceive it."

"Data, that's wonderful!" She couldn't help beaming at him, though her smile faded with his next statement.

"Yes, Counselor. But again, desire is not love."

"It's often a component of love."

"That is true, but..."

"But what?" the counselor challenged. "Data, I'd like you to think about something." Troi straightened her back against her chair, uncrossed her legs, and re-crossed them with the opposite on top. "We can agree that you don't possess developed human emotions, but what if we've been doing you a disservice all these years? What if you, yourself, have perpetuated that disservice by neglecting to consider that you have your own android emotions?"

She could see him start to protest, then stop.

"Love can be a condition," he stated.

"Yes."

"It can be comprised of components I already possess," he continued, speaking slowly, as if thinking out loud. "Elements that I already experience, especially in regard to my partner."

"Yes."

"If that is true, then it must _also_ be true that there would be no breech of ethics, so long as Zoe concurs with my – _your_ – assessment." He stopped. Cocked his head slightly to one side. A sliver of a smile appeared on his lips and then vanished. "Thank you, Counselor. You have given me much to... mull over."

She grinned at the other's use of a new human idiom. He'd almost managed it without the audible quotation marks.

Data began a new sentence. "Counselor, you know Zoe. Would you mind providing an opinion about a piece of jewelry I have designed? I will send you the schematics."

 _Schematics, really?_ Inwardly, Troi chuckled. Outwardly, she favored her patient with a broad smile. "I'd love to, Data."

She left her chair and he followed her cue and rose from the couch, but as the door swooshed open, she called his name.

"Counselor?" He paused in the open doorway.

"One could argue, Data, that if you're aware enough to ask the question, you already have the answer."

"I see," he answered. "Perhaps you are correct, Counselor. Thank you for your time." He turned his back to her, and left.

Troi watched the gold-clad officer walk down the corridor outside her office. Data did not whistle or hum as he moved, but Deanna could see an ease in the way he carried himself that confirmed what she'd already suspected:

However he ultimately chose to define it, Commander Data was in love.

* * *

 **Notes:** This one's for **saya4haji** , with whom I enjoy an ongoing conversation about the ethics of android behavior. Originally, it was meant to be a two-part piece, harkening back to chapter 12 in Crush II, but after a bit of tweaking to the draft the Brain Trust was given to read (written on my phone when I couldn't sleep while on vacation) I've decided to leave it as a one-shot. Enjoy.


End file.
